Dunlop targets title defence

6 February 2013

Dunlop says it is hopeful of successfully defending its LMP2 title after the announcement of the entry lists for the World Endurance Championship and Le Mans 24 Hours.

At least eight of the twelve cars entered in the LMP2 class of the WEC are set to run on Dunlop rubber this year, with 13 of the 22 cars in the class for the Le Mans 24 Hours also set to run on Dunlop tyres.

In 2012, Dunlop took LMP2 honours in both the WEC and at Le Mans with the Starworks Motorsport, while the tyre supplier also won at the Circuit de la Sarthe a year earlier with Greaves Motorsport.

Alongside its LMP2 programme, Dunlop will also supply tyres to the JMW team and its GTE-Pro Ferrari and the 'Garage 56' GreenGT H2 entry for Le Mans.

“Dunlop was the choice of champions in 2012 and we have been working hard over the winter to make sure that our partners and customers have the best we can offer to help secure more titles for 2013,” Dunlop's director of marketing and communications James Bailey said. “Part of our work has been working on a new tyre that warms up as quickly as a soft tyre but has the life-span characteristics of a hard tyre.

“We have made advances on durability and longevity while maintaining consistency. For us consistency is paramount – we want every driver to have confidence in his tyres from the out lap to the last lap of his stint. We are optimistic that the improvements will help our teams to retain the titles won on Dunlops last year.

“2013 is Dunlop's 125th anniversary and we are determined to make it one of our most successful years ever. Our heritage and culture of technological innovation in competitive motorsport cannot be rivalled. Looking back, Dunlop has taken more wins at Le Mans than any other tyre manufacturer, starting with our first in 1924.

“Looking forward, we are now developing tyres for the Green GT H2, a car and technology that are part of the future of motorsport and motoring.”